Does my computer use thermal compound?

Does my computer use thermal compound?

I have a Dell Optiplex GX260 SSF with a 2.4 ghz Pentium 4, and I recently bought a used 3.06 ghz pentium 4 off of eBay. What I am wanting to know is if my computer uses thermal compound. Because currently there is a white paste with pink stickers on the top and bottom of the cpu. Is that the thermal compound? Any help would be appreciated.

Here is a link to the service manuals for my computer-http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx260/en/index.htm#online_documentation
I do have more than half a tube of Arctic Sliver 5 and cleaning alcohol from a previous project. And there are pink stickers on the top and bottom of the white paste. So it goes motherboard, cpu, pink sticker, white paste, pink sticker, heat sink, blower assembly. In the Dell manual it doesn’t say that you have to reapply thermal compound, so can I just reuse it. I do know that it is not the same type as Arctic Silver 5 because I have opened the processor and broken the seal and I know if you disconnected the cpu and heat sink when you use Arctic Silver will be would be worthless.

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4 Comments for Does my computer use thermal compound?

  • 1. NuQQ  |  February 15th, 2011 at 8:41 am

    Thermal compound is that paste that you lay down in a tiny film between your cpu and cpu cooler to help with heat transfer. So that paste you’re seeing shouldn’t be thermal compound. Sorry I can’t identify it for you.

    Hope this helps.

  • 2. Archie  |  February 15th, 2011 at 9:22 am

    All processors use a thermal compound – they maximize the heat transfer between the CPU and the heatsink – was this processor new?

  • 3. Steven  |  February 15th, 2011 at 9:36 am

    All computers use a thermal compound to transfer the heat from the cpu to the plate on the bottom of the cpu fan.
    i am confused as to how there is a “white paste” on the top AND bottom, the bottom of a cpu has loads of gold coloured pins, the cpu itself is tiny. Paste or anything on those pins would stop it from working, by cpu do you actually mean the computer case? If so then somebody just got some funky stuff on it that you can wipe off.

  • 4. pdl756  |  February 15th, 2011 at 10:22 am

    All computers use thermal compound between the heatsink and processor. The white paste is the thermal compound and you’ll need to remove the old and apply new before reassembly. You can buy a thermal material remover but a high purity alcohol of 90%+ will suffice. For thermal compound I would recommend Arctic Silver 5.
    http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=85&name=Thermal-Compound-Grease
    Here’s how to properly apply it.
    http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

    Edit
    Thermal compound can not be reused. Once the heatsink is removed from the processor, the old thermal compound MUST be removed and new applied. This is to prevent microgaps from trapping air, these air pockets become insulators which become hot spots which will increase the processors temperature.
    If you have stickers between the processor and heatsink, remove them, the only thing that you want between heatsink and processor is thermal compound.

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